Domestic reasons for the German invasion of Poland Flashcards
What do some historians claim the invasion of Poland was brought about by?
Economic and political pressure in Germany
What did the Four Year Plan, and rearmament more generally, do for Germany’s economy?
Had a negative impact
What did the need for raw materials to make weapons cause?
.A balance of payments crisis - in 1939 forced Germany to slow down its rearmament drive
. Hitler believed the solution to this was to gain more territory to take hold of resources - Eastern expansion - led to war
How did rearmament negatively impact German living standards?
Devoting huge amounts of resources to rearmament meant Germany did not have resources to improve wages - meant supply of consumer goods and food became limited
What did Hitler believe going to war would solve?
The feeling of discontent due to economic pressure - going to war would unite the country
How may have the solution of Blitzkrieg solved Hitler’s economic and political troubles?
.A ‘lightening war’ would have the benefit of uniting
Germany behind the war effort
. Making the government popular after a quick victory
. Allow Germany to seize Polish resources
What was the result of the appointment of Ribbentrop?
.Favoured the development of a more aggressive foreign
policy
. Negotiated the Nazi-Soviet Pact, 1939, led to the invasion of Poland
How did Goering contribute to the outbreak of war?
. Four Year Plan - focused on rearmament
. Helped lay the economic and military foundations for war
How did Goering deceive Hitler, resulting in the outbreak of war?
Hid failures of the Four Year Plan - encouraged Hitler to think that Germany was ready for war - persuaded Hitler to risk war over Poland
How did the nature of Hitler’s government contribute to the outbreak of war?
. Radical Nazi policies came to dominate gov - no way of stopping Hitler take risks
. Allowed Hitler to pursue an aggressive foreign policy without any effective opposition within government
